Do you poop out of parties?

Jonny Reid - 2005 - future lounge singer with an attitude He looks like the party has completely bored him, or he's lost the rest of his brat pack somewhere in the smoky nursing lounge...
So, just take me home, Mom, this crowd is losing speed. And fix my tie, I gotta impress the babes.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered - I'm Yours

Can you remember the last time you received a hand-written letter? I can. It came last year with a birthday card from my Dad. Needless to say, it is an incredible treasure to me.

I'm also delighted when Aaron writes to me in our "book." We decided awhile back to forget Hallmark cards (for the most part) and write in a specific blank book set aside for the big "card" days like anniversaries and birthdays and Valentine's, etc.

Maybe it's just my "love language" but a hand-written note is like gold to me: precious, rare, beautiful.

As a young girl, I loved playing around with handwriting and trying to make my script "cool", but Junior High School was where I fine-tuned the art of writing letters. My goodness, I would be a rich woman if I could get those letters back somehow that were stealthily passed between classes, slipped into the vents in my locker, or put inside the cover of my textbook.

My dear friend, Holly K. (now Holly M.) and I were master note-writers. We observed everything and left out no minor detail. We were obsessed with the complex social behaviors and norms of being a new teenager and discovering ourselves. I would not have survived 7th and 8th grade without her notes; I really believe that.

And, oh death, the risk of having a note found, read, or even worse -- posted for all to see. The teachers tried to stop it, but it was pointless. We were addicted to writing. It was impossible to stop.

I still can't stop. Don't want to. I watched the film "Pride and Prejudice" (the newer one with Keira Knightly) this week and loved how letters played such a huge part of the plot. It sounds old-fashioned, but letters are a lost charm. I hope they make a come-back.

Man Stuff

Well, I'm always putting stuff about myself here, so now it's Aaron's turn. He woke up early one morning when we were in Wisconsin and went fishing in the Black River. (I hope that's the right name...I can't remember now...) Here are some gorgeous pictures of his "man time." No fish to brag about, but beautiful creation all around.

Random Favorites

I found an index card next to the computer where I wrote out some random favorite things from this summer. This was before all the hospital hoopla, so now that the dust has settled, I'll share it now...

1. HGTV (Especially where they just move your stuff around, no cost involved)
2. Old Navy Perfect Fit solid color t-shirts. One in every color, please.
3. Journals from Barnes & Noble
4. 100 calorie packs (Lorna Doone cookies)
5. Worship Leader Israel Houghton's stuff from itunes ("Not Forgotten" rocks)
6. Old Cosby Show reruns on TVLand
7. Jonny in his swim trunks
8. When I ask Jonny a question and he says, "Yeth!"
9. Anything coconut-scented
10. Trident, original flavor
11. Fresh peaches and sweet corn
12. Making Flag Cake, even if it's not a Flag holiday
13. Watching Aaron and Chris and Kaela Wake Board
14. Watching Daniel, Greggie, and cousin Brett all ride on a tube behind the boat
15. Sweet air-conditioning

Home

Ah, home.

On Saturday morning, the doctor came by and suggested I could go home a day earlier than expected. I thought he was teasing me, but thankfully, I arrived home around 1:30 in the afternoon.

It's a little hard being home, but not being able to do much. Aaron has been INCREDIBLE with Jonathan, house stuff, and helping me. I just feel like I should be doing...I don't know....something. The hospital is an easy place to recover and not do a whole lot, but coming home is another story.

Last night I also had major Mommy pains from missing my Greggie and Daniel. It's been 7 days since I saw them last and I can't take much more. I know they are having fun in Wisconsin and this is for the best, though. Talking to them on the phone last night about put me over the edge. But I have to remember the energy and strength that I have to recoup before they come home.

So...today we took a short walk down the road, trying to stay in the shade because with my antibiotic, I turn day-glo pink if I'm in the sun. Could be interesting...

Day 3

Alright, I'm feelin' pretty good right now so I thought I'd pop into the blog.

Many thanks for the prayers and thoughts for me and my family. Aaron and I can definitely see how God has helped each family member.

Not much to update, feeling better and actually got dressed in PJs today. Last night they had to switch my IV to my other arm. I look like somebody beat me up on both arms pretty good. When they couldn't get an IV in, they said, "we're gonna have to bring in Bill," who apparently is the IV Guru around here. He walks in like Clint Eastwood and took over the situation. I was very glad to see him go. Nuff said.

Looks like I'll be going home Sunday. Thanks again for the encouragement. That's one of my favorite things about blogging. I feel so funny typing away in my hospital room, but it's a great way to connect with the outside world a little bit.

I need an INTERMISSION of my own

Taking a break from the drama? Ha!! Not anytime soon, at least.

I am coming to you live from Rice Hospital in Willmar where I am recovering from an appendectomy. Many thanks to my friends Steve and Anne for the sweet technical hook-ups. Heaven forbid I don't get to blog about all this.

It started a week ago when I felt a dull ache in my lower right side...but I wrote that off to maybe a UTI or something...then during a follow-up visit found that, oh no, it was my inflamed and dilated appendix making me have all this discomfort.

I was pretty baffled because every appendix story I've heard is pretty outrageous with people doubled over in pain, heading for the ER. But I was managing okay. They immediately sent me to the hospital for surgery and I called Aaron who was pretty flustered at this point. It all happened really fast.

Thankfully, my older boys were in Wisconsin with Poppy and Granny and Jonny was with my sister-in-law here, so the kids were well taken care of.

Surgery went fine, but the surgeon said the appendix did in fact rupture, but was resting against my bladder or something to keep it from really rupturing. whew.

So here I am now, hunkering down for a few days. I have an IV going with antibiotics and am still dealing with a good bit of abdominal pain. I will be released Sunday or Monday.

Man, you never know what a day will bring, and I thank God things are going so smoothly. It could be much worse!!

My sweet Aaron stayed last night and brought me movies and books. I don't think he slept much but I was so glad to have him here. Then my sister-in-law, her 3 children and Jonny came by this morning, along with my friend Anne. Jonny seemed to understand I needed to be here and didn't cry when he left, thankfully.

Life is good. No complaints...just a rollercoaster of a couple days.

Strange but true appendix facts:

- it's the size of your pinkie

- the organ was originally intended to be a clean-out for foods that may have been contaminated, like our diets hundreds of years ago, but now serves little purpose. (Couldn't it just clean all the preservatives and chemicals?? ha)

Twinkies in the Moonlight

I tried really hard to capture this shot in Duluth, but I do not have the world's best camera. From where we stood, the moon was full and bright in the middle of the Lift Bridge. Very cool.

And this, dear friends, is a chocolate-covered Twinkie. It sounded really great when I looked at it from behind the glass at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, but the taste didn't live up to expectations. Chocolate coating - too thick...twinkie dreadfully stale...

Another attempt...

My Shout-Out to Boys

These pictures of Jonny with his very first catch remind me of the great privilege it is to raise sons.

One of my favorite quotes is: "You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes even if it's just in your eyes." Love that.

I am especially saddened, though, when I see a culture dismissing boys as "noise covered with dirt." Walking through a department store, I'm disgusted by the idiotic things manufacturers put on T-shirts for boys. The girls department isn't any better, for that matter.

I understand the desire for the "snips, snails, and puppy dog tails" tradition to continue. Boys ARE noisy. They ARE dirty. That's who they are. But that's not ALL they are.

Boys are great at being honest. Boys like life to be simple and predictable. Boys like to be tickled and wrestled with and thrown up in the air until they can't see straight. It doesn't take much to make a boy happy.

And I love girls, too, but I just had to send out my respects to boys. God love ya.